Anti-Christian graffiti marred the Calvary Baptist Church on West Main Street and the grounds of Pope John Paul II High School in the past week in a spate of vandalism in Hyannis.

An upside down cross and the number 666 were spray-painted on the door of the church on the morning of May 22, and similar markings in thick magic marker, along with profanity-laced comments against the Pope, were found at the school Wednesday morning.

The crimes are being investigated as acts of vandalism, not hate crimes, Barnstable Police spokesman Sgt. Sean Sweeney said.

The graffiti at the school was mostly confined to the press box and dugouts at McKeon Field where the Hyannis Mets play, Sweeney said.

Graffiti found at Barnstable High School last week, which prompted added security measures at the school and prom activities, may not be related, Sweeney said, as it was different in nature. But graffiti was also found at the Steve and Sue's Par-Tee Freeze in the past week that could be related.

Detective Reid Hall, the school resource officer, was assigned to investigate the case. According to Sweeney, Hall is on the case because it appears to be the work of juveniles.

No Place For Hate Committee Officially Quiet

A member of Barnstable's No Place For Hate committee committee, Taryn Thomon, expressed frustration at the lack of any official response from the committee to the church graffiti. In a number of e-mails, copied to committee members and several news organizations, Thoman attempted to clarify whether it was an incident that required some response from the committee.

Thoman also covered the story for the news Web site Hyannisnews.com.

Among the activities of the NPFH committee is establishing response protocols when incidents of hate occur. Thoman, growing impatient with a lack of response from the committee's chair, Town Councilor Janice Barton, acted as a private citizen and helped the church cover the graffiti.

In an e-mail to Barton two days after the incident, Thoman wrote, "The incident at the church deserved a swift and supportive response from you as the Chair of the NPFH Committee. As you have made it perfectly clear in the past, no other person has the authority to act in the name of the Committee without your approval. I find it sadly ironic that while I was able to help the church as a member of the Hyannis Business Community, I was unable to do so as a member of NPFH."

In a phone interview Wednesday, Barton said that the committee has established three response levels depending on the type of incident. As the incident at Calvary Baptist Church was a crime, the response was to let the police take charge.

"If it's a crime, it needs to be handled by the police," she said.

Barton said that she was not aware of the incident until after the e-mails started. She said that the vandalism at the church would have been considered a hate crime by the committee, which has not met to discuss it.

"We are a growing committee. We're going to establish some procedures and it's going to be ongoing," Barton said. "Probably there are going to be things that are going to be missed."

At the time of the interview, Barton said she had not spoken with the pastor of the church.

In a press statement issued Wednesday afternoon, a full copy of which can be found on page A:7, Barton addressed the incident.

"The recent vandalism of the Calvary Baptist Church in Hyannis, which qualifies as a hate crime, was reported to the Barnstable Police and is currently being investigated. This type of action is certainly in opposition to the goals of the NPFH Committee and our thoughts are with Reverend Smith and his congregation. It is hoped that continuing NPFH Committee activities will help reduce instances of this kind in our community."

Barton also addressed the content of the e-mails.

"Recently a good deal of information and discussion has circulated via email with references to the Barnstable 'No Place for Hate' Committee and an incident in Hyannis," Barton wrote in a NPFH press statement this week. "This information and comments did not come from the official NPFH Committee."

Barton also apologized to those receiving the e-mails who found them "misleading or disturbing either in content or quantity."

The Barnstable No Place For Hate committee is not a committee of the town. The town council was asked to support the certification effort with a proclamation, which was done essentially by presidential order, as no vote was ever called during the 2005 council meeting at which it was discussed. Only one councilor raised an objection to the proclamation.

Barnstable was certified by the Anti-Defamation League's Boston office as a No Place For Hate Community last year and was recently re-certified for 2007-2008.

No Place For Hate is a partnership between the Anti-Defamation League and the Massachusetts Municipal Association. According to the MMA Web site, 59 Massachusetts communities have earned the designation.

The committee's next meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. June 13 at Barnstable Town Hall.